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Re:Why Mountainman cant afford broadband

Public transportation here works great and the pricing is fair - I, however, use my bike, and so does my father, most of the time - it's healthy and you are not bound by silly things like gasbills and timeschedules. That might not be an option if you live far away from where you work, but I get all my transportation done that way, even when it's raining (not fun but there's always dry clothing and tea to make you feel better).

Plus I live outside the city and the nature is beautiful here so I get that experience for free everytime I go some place.

In the event I have to go far away it tends to be a family trip so four - five people in the car, pretty stuffed but it's good fun - or I take a train or a bus.

Little note here - enjoy your rediculiously low gas prices while they last - here fx. we pay 4 times what you pay - so fuel economy is very important.

Re:Why Mountainman cant afford broadband

I actually have not driven a vehicle for about 5 years and have some of the best public transportation in the US in my neighborhood, so I luck out by not getting raped by gas prices, car payments and insurance. But the majority of Americans live too far from work for a bicycle to ever be an option. Plus, what would America be without its huge, enviormentally unsound, gas-sucking vehicles? Overkill and gluttony are very American traits. It only seems proper that we make our cars adhere to the same standards. As a matter of fact, I am shedding a tear for all my old trucks and SUVs as I type. I had a Ford Ranger and Mitsubishi Montero when I lived in the Midwest.

Back to the original intent of this thread--Nice kids and car Mountainman. I would not trade them in for broadband any day.

Re:Why Mountainman cant afford broadband

The CRV ain't that bad. Nice car with a good gas mileage. It is not like some other SUVs which get only 9 miles per gallon to 17 MPG. CRV is rated as 22 MPG.

Public transits sucks major ass in US except some big metropolitan areas. It takes a good an hour and a half to take the train from San Francisco to San Jose where driving would take only 45 minutes. If I take the bus, transfer to light rail and then a short walk from my home to where I work would takes about 2 hours where it takes 25 minutes to drive which I'm of usually against the traffic.

Yeah so I guess cars are a big part of American life than people from other parts of the world.

Re:Why Mountainman cant afford broadband

As was just mentioned, the little Honda isn't anywhere near being a gas-guzzler. It's pretty close to the average fuel economy for the typical car in America.

Luckily for me, my wife doesn't work. So, we only have one car. Plus, I usually live within a few miles of my work, so I can bike to work whenever I want/have to. I have thought about buying an old beater truck, but I'm not too certain about that.

The DC area (where my in-laws live) has good public transportation. Of course, it's a little bit more dangerous than the average, but it's fast, predictable, and inexpensive. On the whole, though, most of the public transportation systems suck. Now, Turkey has an awesome public trans system. I truly believe that it is a model system. Very efficient and very cheap.

Re:Why Mountainman cant afford broadband

[quote author=M0u|/|ta1|/|Ma|/| link=board=17;threadid=7140;start=0#66016 date=1054314557]
yeah, thats the wife's piece o crap. I hate that car. To fully appreciate my new vehicle, you have to put yourself in my place. For the last 6 years, I have lived in Southern Mississippi where heat indexes hit in the 120's in the summer. With No AC!!! Mountainman needed some love...
[/quote]

No dang AC? You are truly a man among men! I have been fortunate enough to only have had to spend about two months in Biloxi, but dang, they were freaking hot and humid (hot I can handle, humid....no way). You definitely deserve a vehicle with AC.

Re:Why Mountainman cant afford broadband

I would take public transit, if it went where I wanted and didn't take 3 times as long. Seriously, I thought about giving up the car for a while and taking the bus to school. The main problem is it's a 15 minute walk and a 45 minute bus trip to go 15 miles down the road..... Not even that busy of a stretch, just a lot of stops I guess. I'm not quite willing to give up an extra hour a day for school, especially not when I go to and from twice on tues and thurs (4 hours a day in a bus!) Then, there's the matter of getting to work, which is 10 miles in the opposite direction. I imagine a bus could do it, but it'd probably be another 30 to 45 minutes one way (20 by car.)

Now, if I lived in an area with useable public transit (NY, Japan, etc...) I'd give up the car EASY! You guys are so lucky that can do without a car, saving all that maintenance, gas, and insurance money. I do envy you.